Boeing 787 Flight Marks End of Battery Mod Testing

Boeing moved one step closer toward returning the 787 to service on Friday, when it flew Dreamliner Line Number 86 on a one-hour, 49-minute mission to demonstrate conformity of its battery system modification to U.S. certification authorities. Painted in LOT Polish Airlines livery, LN 86 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:39 a.m. local time, traveled west, then south down the Washington State and northwest Oregon coastlines before turning around over the Pacific Ocean and virtually tracing its original flight path back to Everett, where it landed at 12:28 p.m. The crew of 11, including two FAA officials, followed a “straightforward” demonstration plan and reported an “uneventful” flight, said Boeing.